


Mortal Wound

by TonalModulator



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: F/F, Time Travel, shortly before the events of Morrowind but they know what's coming, there is a dead lesbian but she's like 850 years old
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonalModulator/pseuds/TonalModulator
Summary: Talvini goes to have a chat with the Tribunal after she learns that her wife, Milia, was killed on the mission to reclaim Red Mountain from the Sixth House.
Relationships: Female Dunmer Vestige/Female Dunmer Vestige, Talvini (Vestige OC)/Milia (Vestige OC)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Mortal Wound

**Author's Note:**

> This is partly in response to a prompt from [Nirnwrote](https://nirnwrote.tumblr.com): “I regret it all." for Talvini
> 
> Some necessary info on relationships: Talvini and Milia were Vestiges back in the day, and their granddaughter, Ildari, is/will be the Nerevarine. After fulfilling the prophecies, Ildari was sent back to ESO time, where she actually met Tal and Mils, and had a kid, Dreveni, with Sotha Sil.

**3E 417**

An old Dunmer floated up the steps to the Palace of Vivec. She had walked the steps a number of times in her youth—or, relative youth, anyway—hundreds of years ago, when she was known as the “Vestige” and had saved the god in residence from a Daedric threat. While the centuries had weakened her knees a little too much to comfortably walk the many steps again, her magical skill was as sharp as ever, and so she levitated.

Unfortunately, both for Talvini and for everyone she was about to impose herself upon, the reason for this visit was not a pleasant one. According to reports, the Tribunal had just returned from an assault on Red Mountain in an attempt to take it back from the Sixth House. They had taken with them a small group of elite Hands of Almalexia and Buoyant Armigers. Talvini’s wife, Milia, was among them. A few of the fighters had been killed. Milia was among them.

Talvini reached the top of the stairs and found the door guarded by two Buoyant Armigers. She instinctively glanced at each of them to try to tell whether either might be her wife under their helmet, until she remembered that that would be impossible. She lowered her gaze and reached for the door, but one of the Armigers held out a hand to block her way.

“Sorry, sera,” the Armiger said. “The Three are not to be disturbed right now.”

So all Three were there? Perfect. She would hate to have to travel to each of their cities just to yell at them.

“Then bring my request to them yourself,” she said. “Tell them that Talvini Llothri of Tel Galen seeks audience with them. They will grant it.”

“I’m sure you’re important, sera, but we have orders to hold the door.”

Perhaps Tal’s patience had weakened like her knees over the years, or maybe it was just the present situation that was weighing on her. Either way, she was growing tired of this conversation. She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and forced a smile.

“Were you both part of the mission to Red Mountain?” she asked.

The Armigers glanced at each other cautiously, and then nodded.

“Then you know my wife, Milia.” In a lower voice, she corrected herself, “ _Knew_ my wife, rather. She was killed on the mission, and you were not. Therefore, I think it is fair to hold both of you personally responsible.”

The Armigers looked at each other again, and one began to say, “I’m sor—”

Tal continued speaking over the Armiger. “I am an eight hundred fifty-eight year old Telvanni master, and I am feeling surprisingly generous, given the circumstances. Generous enough to give you one warning. I _will_ be entering the palace. Neither you nor any defenses you can put on the door will even slow me down. I advise you _not_ to stand in my way.” As she spoke, her hands glowed with crackling purple magicka.

The Armigers exchanged one more glance, and then stepped aside.

Two of the Three were waiting for her, expecting her. Naturally. She wondered why they had even let the Armigers stop her. Maybe they wanted to give her a chance to blow off some steam before she reached them. That was probably wise.

“Clear the chamber,” Vivec said. Hir voice did not boom like it once had, but ze still commanded enough respect that both the Buoyant Armigers and the Hands of Almalexia left the room without hesitation.

“Talvini,” ze greeted her with a sad smile. “We are sorry for your loss.”

Talvini ignored hir. “I need to speak with all Three of you. Where is Lord Seht?”

“Watch your tone, serjo,” Almalexia warned. “Our audience is a privilege for which you should be grateful. Do not think to take advantage of it by making demands of your gods.”

Vivec spoke up before Tal could retort. “Seht was injured. He is tending to his wounds at present.”

A door to the side opened, and Sotha Sil entered the chamber. He was levitating, which was unusual for him, as far as Talvini could remember, and she could only see one foot dangling out of his robes. He greeted her with a slow, silent nod. She felt her anger cool somewhat as she remembered that Milia was not the only one hurt on the mission, but it didn’t detract from her purpose in coming here.

When Seht had taken his place with his companions, she looked at each of the Three and said, “I would like to know why my wife is dead.”

“Milia died honorably—” Vivec began.

“I did not ask about her honor, muthsera. I am asking why you sent your loyal servant to die.”

“Milia volunteered. She knew it would be a dangerous mission, and she made the decision to participate.”

“I know she volunteered,” Tal said quietly. “She told me she would. I begged her not to, but she said she must, out of love and loyalty to you, in service to Morrowind and the Dunmer people, for the sake of our granddaughter…” Her voice trailed off, and she took a breath before she continued. “I _know_ that she volunteered. I am asking why you let her go.”

“Why would I have refused to honor her request? She has always served me well.”

“She was old. Far too old for this kind of mission. If you had been paying any attention…if you cared at all, you would have known that.” As she spoke, Tal noticed her voice getting progressively louder.

“Careful, Talvini,” Almalexia warned her again.

“Your hindsight clouds your judgment,” Vivec said. “Milia’s death is unfortunate, but—”

“‘ _Unfortunate_?’” Now she was shouting. “She served you directly for almost eight centuries, and the best you can say is ‘unfortunate?’ Have you truly grown so weak that even you, the Poet, can’t come up with anything better?”

Almalexia waved a hand, and Talvini felt a spell settle onto her. Her eyes widened in ire as she realized she had been silenced.

“Stay your tongue, mortal,” Almalexia said. “You dare speak to your gods this way? Continue to sow lies in the face of our hospitality and you can spend the rest of your days in the Ministry of Truth.”

_For the Mother of Mercy, you’re acting rather merciless,_ Tal wished she could say.

Sotha Sil waved a hand, and Tal felt the spell lift off of her.

“Talvini’s words are valid,” he said.

“I apologize for my callous phrasing, Talvini,” Vivec said. “What I was trying to say is that we could not have known how dangerous the mission would be. I did not wish to put Milia so directly in harm’s way, and I regret the outcome.”

“And yet you did it anyway. She volunteered, releasing herself to your judgment. She expected you to refuse if you thought it unwise. She trusted you to know what was best. _I_ trusted you. And you sent her to her death.”

“If I may,” Sotha Sil broke in. “Vivec should not shoulder all of the blame. Ayem and I led the charge. Vehk stayed behind to provide us a way out if it should go wrong.”

Talvini’s rage peaked as she turned her attention back on Vivec. “You didn’t even go with her? You just sent her off to Red Mountain and hoped for the best?”

Vivec exchanged a dry look with Seht, who shrugged apologetically.

“That is correct,” Vivec said.

“Your Armigers are so expendable to you that you’re willing to send them into Sixth House territory without oversight?”

Tal noticed a subtle shift of Sotha Sil’s hand and and felt a dampening field form around her, diffusing the magicka that had been gathering at her hands again. She silently thanked him as she wiggled her fingers, trying to get herself to relax. She would hate to even imagine what could happen if she did something rash.

“They had oversight,” Almalexia said. “Or do you not trust your gods as protectors?”

Talvini scoffed, against her better judgment. “You failed! How could I trust you to protect Milia when you definitively did not do that?”

“She died in service to Morrowind, so that we could protect all Dunmer. You should be proud of her honorable sacrifice.”

“Do not dictate to me how I should feel about my wife!” Talvini shouted. She willed her voice not to break as her eyes began to fill with tears. “She was my partner. My love. To you, she was a pawn in glass armor to send to Oblivion. And you presume to tell me how to feel?”

Talvini relaxed her fists, which she had apparently balled while talking, and took a breath.

“Was the mission a success, at least?” she asked quietly.

The Three were quiet for a moment, perhaps silently discussing who should be the one to break the news.

“No,” Sotha Sil said at last. “We were unable to retake the citadel. Were it not for Vivec’s timely intervention, we may have all died. And—”

“Seht,” Ayem warned.

“And we lost the Tools of Kagrenac,” he finished.

“You _lost_ …You sent Milia to make things easier for Ildari when the time comes, and you instead got Milia killed and made things even _harder_ for Ildari?”

“We are sorry, Talvini,” Seht said. “We know this is difficult.”

“No, no, we are well beyond the realm of apology,” Tal said, now fully in tears. “My wife died in vain, at your command. You sent her off to be killed, and you have nothing to show for it. Less than nothing. You killed her for a loss. _And_ you will make my granddaughter suffer for it.”

“Ildari will succeed,” Sotha Sil said. “This we know with as much certainty as possible.”

“So?” Tal said. “You’ve still made her life that much harder, and that much more dangerous. Do you not care about the process, as long as the end result is as you’d like it?”

“We are all bound by prophecy,” Sotha Sil said. “The process, however difficult, is irrelevant.”

“So you killed my wife for Azura, then? Is that what you’re saying? And you’re making Ildari suffer for Azura, as if Azura won’t give her enough of that to begin with?”

Before Almalexia could silence her again or come back with some cutting response, Seht crossed the gap between them and opened his arms. Talvini hesitated, studying her patron whom she hadn’t seen in so long, and then cautiously moved into the hug. Seht’s arms wrapped around her, and she pressed her face into his robes, letting herself break down completely.

“I know it means little, but I am so sorry, my friend,” he said softly. “For the pain we’ve caused you and Milia, and for everything that Ildari is destined to go through.”

“Do you miss them? Ildari and Dreveni?” Talvini asked.

“All the time,” he said. “Even if Dreveni won’t exist for almost twenty more years. I miss them dearly, and as the time of the Nerevarine prophecies draws closer, I miss them all the more, knowing that I will never see them again.”

“Neither will Milia, now,” she said.

“That is true.”

She pulled back from the hug and looked up at him. “Did you know this would happen?”

“No,” Seht said. “I would not have let her go if I had known.”

“Didn’t you calculate the outcome?”

“I tried. There were too many unknowns.”

Talvini sighed.

“Regardless, you have every right to be upset with us, Talvini.”

“‘Upset’ is an understatement, if I’m being honest,” she said. “I know it’s irrational, but part of me feels like I regret it all. I regret acquiescing when Milia wanted to volunteer for the mission. I regret following Vivec’s orders to stay in Morrowind when our daughter was taken by the Empire. I regret not going to Cyrodiil to at least bring Ildari back here and raise her with her family. I even almost regret encouraging Milia to become a Buoyant Armiger, centuries ago.”

“Your feelings are valid,” Seht said, “but I hope you will not interfere with the fulfillment of the prophecies. Ildari has an important role to play. To stand in her way would cause incredible suffering throughout Morrowind, and likely all of Tamriel.”

“I know. I wouldn’t. I just hate that I can’t.”

“I understand.”

Tal raised an eyebrow.

“As well as I can, anyway,” Seht added.

Tal nodded, paused, and then went back into the hug. She pressed her face into Seht’s chest again, this time letting out all her remaining stored emotion. Nobody spoke, instead giving her the time she needed. She let go of him again when she was done.

“Shall we bring Milia’s remains in?” Seht asked. “The Three of us can give her her rites personally.”

“Thank you, muthsera. I would appreciate that.”

“It is the least we can do. Will you be interring her in your family’s ancestral tomb?”

Talvini nodded. “Whatever doesn’t go to the Great Ghostfence, of course.”

“Her contribution honors us all,” Seht said with a small ceremonial bow. “Perhaps you would let me help you see to her remains? After all, she is arguably my ancestor, at least while Ildari and Dreveni are unavailable to bear the responsibility.”

Talvini surprised herself by laughing lightly at the thought of being Sotha Sil’s ancestor, but sobered quickly. “It would be an honor, muthsera.”


End file.
